bouvier



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

L. P. BOUVIER. ENVELOPE BLANK FEEDING MECHANISM. No. 324,644.

Patented Aug. 18, 1885.v

No Model. 2 Sheets-Shet 2 L. P. BOUVIER. ENVELOPE BLANK FEEDING MECHANISM. No. 324,644. Patented Aug. 18, 1885.

Fig.9.

'Wimsses. Invezvl'ror.

N. PETERS, FhclwLithognphur, Washington, D. C4

1 UNITED STATES PATENT LOUIS PETER ,BOUVIER, OF TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO JOHN FITZALLEN ELLIS, PHILIP THOMAS PERROTT, AND THOMAS JAMES CLARK, ALL OF TORONTO, CANADA.

ENVELOPE-BLANK-FEEDING MECHANISM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 324,644, dated August 18, 1885.

Application filed September 22, 1884. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LoUIs PETER BOUVIER, 1 of the city of Toronto, in the county of York, in the Province of Ontario, Canada, machinist, have invented a new and Improved Feed for the Blank-Elevator of an Envelope-Machine; andI do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same. The object of the invention is to devise a IO continuous feed for the elevator of an envelopemachine, so arranged that the speed of the feed may be adjusted to a hairs-breadth inorder to accommodate the various thicknesses of the blanks employed in different classes of envel- I 5 opes. The feed is also arranged so that its speed may be increased or decreased without stopping the machine, and it is also arranged so that the elevator on which the blanks are carried may be raised or lowered independ- 2o ently of the feed mechanism; and it consists, essentially, in a vertical screw attached to the frame of the elevator and provided with a split nut connected to the worm-gear operated by a worm formed on the end of a spindle, 1 having afriction-cone fastened to it driven by an adjustable friction-roller deriving its motion. from a friction-cone fastened to a spindle driven from some convenient part of the machine, the two cones mentioned being made on the same taper and set on their respective spindles so that their sides shall be parallel with each other, in order that the friction-pulley which connects the two shall continue in contact with both cones, no matter at which end of the cone the friction-roller may be placed. Simple means for disengaging the split nut from the screw are provided, in order that the elevator may be dropped in.- dependently of the feeding mechanism, a 0 simple rack-and-pawl movement being arranged to raise the blank-elevator independently of the feeding motion.

Figure l is a perspective view of theelevator, showing the feeding mechanism. Fig. 5 2 is a perspective View of the elevator at a different angle, in order to show the elevating rack and lever. Fig. 3 is a sectional detail of the spindle, split nut, and mechanism for operating the same.

As the invention relates only to the mecho anism immediately connected with the blankelevator of an envelope-machine, it is not necessary to exhibit any other part of the machine than that immediately connected with my invention. It is applicable to any envelope-ma 5 5 chine in which the envelope-blanks are carried in a pile on top of a table arranged to be moved orfed upwardly as the thickness of the pile of blanks is reduced by the removal of the blanks on top of the pile as they are formed into envelopes by the action of the machine.

In the drawings, A represents the elevator plate or table 011 which the pile of blanks is placed. This table or plate is fastened to or forms part of the elevator-fran'le B, which is 6 held in suitable guides formed in the elevator bracket C, which is fastened to or forms part of the main frame of the envelope-machine The guides which hold the elevator-frame B are fitted to the same so that the said elevatoc frame shall have a free vertical movement.

D is the elevator-screw, rigidly fastened at its bottom end to the elevator-frame B.

The split nut E consists of two distinct parts, each part being pivoted at its bottom to a bracket, F, shaped substantially as shown, and attached to the top side of the worm-gear G. A clean hole is made both through the wormgear G and the bracket F for the clear passage of the elevator screw D, which is therefore only connected to the worm-gear G when the split nut E is held in gear,

As shown in the drawings, I employ a rubber band, a, arranged to fit over the cylindrical portion of the bracket F, and thereby grasp and hold the split nut E into gear with the e1evator-screw D, passage-ways being cut out of the bracket F to allow the split nut E to come in contact with the screw D.

With the view of opening the nut, I fit 9o loosely over the elevator-screw D an invertedcone-shaped collar, H, the apex of the collar H fitting between the two parts of the split nut E. Consequently when the collar H is pressed downwardly the two halves of the 9 5 not E are pushed apart clear of the elevatorscrew D, so as to break all connection between. the worm-gear G and elevator-screw D.

In order to enable the operator of the machine to readily break the connection between the screw D and worm gear G, I provide a hand-lever, I, one end of which is pivoted to the bracket 0, while its other end projects beyond the bracket O,where it may readily be grasped by the operator. A hole is made at or about the center of the lever I to permit the screw D to pass through it and allow the lever I to come in contact with the inverted base of the cone shaped collar H. Consequently a downward pressure on the free-end. of the lever I imparts a corresponding movement to the cone-shaped collar H; which, consequently, forces the two halves of the nut E apart, and thereby breaks the connection between the worm-gear G and elevator-screw D.

With the view of preventing the lever I 7 from acting on the collar H when not required to do so, I provide a spring, J, arranged to support the free end of the lever I.

The worm-gear G is suitably journaled onthe top of a bracket, K, attached to or forming part of the bracket 0.

The horizontal spindle L has a worm, d, formed on its inner end and arranged to mesh with the worm-gear G. This horizontal spindle L is carried in suitable journals, as indithe same taper as the cone N, which is fastened to the spindle O, journaled below or next to the spindle L. These spindles are parallel to each other, and as the apex of one cone is set opposite to the baseof the other cone the sides of the two cones will beparallel to each other, so that the connection between thetwocones shall be formed by the friction-roller P, no matter at which end the said friction-roller may be placed. For the convenience-of adjusting this friction roller P, I journal it at the end of the arm Q, the other end of which is loosely fitted onto the screw R, and is adj usted thereon by the thumb-screw S, by turning which thumb-screw the friction-roller P may be adjusted to a hairs-breadth in either direction. Consequently the speed of the spindle L may be increased or decreased at 5 will by simply adjusting the friction-roller P toward either theapex or the base of the cone M, as the motion of the cone M is derived through the friction-roller P, and cone N from the motion of the spindle O, which is driven from any convenient part of the envelope-machine.

As the elevator A B,with the pile of envelope-blanks on top of A, is elevated by the'action of the split-nut E on the screw D, any increase or decrease in the speed of thespinare fed upwardly. Consequently the mechanism herein described,which is ofcourse caused to revolve in the proper direction, enables the speed at which the elevator A B is fed to be increased or decreased to suit the thickness of the envelope-blanks which may at the particular time be resting on the elevator-table A.

; action of which I havealready. fully explained.

.moves. the nut E from thescrew D, which The downward movement of the lever I screw, when grasped by the nut, is the only support for the elevator-frame B. Consequently the removal of thenut E from the screw D will cause the elevator-frame B, with its table A, to fall by its own gravity, from ;which lowered position they may be raised,

either by allowing the nut E to reform its connection with the revolving screw D ,or, if the operator wishes to move the elevator A B up: wardly more quickly than the action of the revolving screw D will do, the rack-and lever Ielevating mechanism may be brought into i requisition. ,stood on reference to Fig. 2, where-itwill be This mechanism will be under- 0 seen that a ratchet-toothed rack, T, is fastened to the elevator-frame B, and that a pawl, U, .is pivoted on the small arm of the lever V, jwhich lever is bracket 0;

cated, and has fastened wit acone, M, made 1 pivoted, as indicated, to the The pawl U has a tail, 0, which projects heyond the face of a small adjustable bracket, W, attached tothe face of the frame B. This bracket W is so set against the tail 0 that the upper end of the pawlU is held clear of the jratchet-rack T as long as the lever Vstands fin its initial position, as shown-in Fig. 2; but -i as soon-as this lever is pressed down the round.- i edend of the tail 0 permits the spring X to :pull the tail 0 back suffici-ently far to throw the top end of the pawl U into meshvwith the ,ratchetrack T. By this arrangement the ,pawl U has no effect upon or cannot interfere with the free movement of the elevator-frame which need only be done when it is-desired to iraise the elevator independently of its ordi- Enary feed.

Emit the elevator to be raised by the lever V without throwing the nut E out of mesh with I should here mention that in order to per Zthe screw D, I make the said screw D what is termed a bastard thread t-hat is to say, a thread beveled on one side, whichin this case ;is made on the top side, so that when the nut E meshes with the screw D it. supports the: @said screw and the elevator A B attached to ?it, but offers no resistance to the free upward gmovement of the elevator A B when actedi'upon by the lever-V, as described. dle L will cause a correspondingchange in'the 1 speed at which the elevatorABand its blanks 1 1 25 What I claim as my invention is- 1. In an envelopemachine, the elevatorframe B, carried in suitable guides-formed in jthe bracket 0, and supporting the elevator plateor table A, in combination with mechanism, substantially as described, arranged to impart a continuous upward movement to the table during the operation of the machine,

and an adjustable friction-roller, as P, oper- IOO.

ating on the cones M and N, as described, and

varying the speed of the feeding mechanism, as and for the purposes specified.

2. In an envelope-machine, the plate or table A, carrying the envelope-blanks, and attached to or forming part of the frame 13, held in suitable guides within the bracket 0, a screw, D, fastened to said frame, and split nut E, arranged to grasp the screw D, and pivoted to the worm-gear G, through which the screw D passes, in combination with a horizontal spindle, L, having a worm on it to mesh with the worm-gear G, and deriving motion from adjustable mechanism, substantially as described, by which the speed of the spindle L may be increased or decreased without stopping the machine, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

3. In an envelope-machine, the plate or table A, attached to or forming part of the frame B, held in suitable guides within the bracket 0, a screw, D, fastened to said frame, and a pivoted split nut, E, made to grasp the screw D, in combination with a cone-shaped collar, H, arranged to open the split nut E, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

4. In an envelope-machine, the plate or table A, attached to or forming part of the frame 13, held in suitable guides within the bracket 0, a screw, D, fastened to said frame, and a pivoted split nut, E, made to grasp the screw-D, in combination with a coneshaped collar, H, the apex of which extends between the ends of the split nut E, and the pivoted lever I, supported by the spring J, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

5. In an envelope-machine, the plate or table A, attached to or forming part of the frame 13, held in suitable guides within the bracket 0, a screw, D, fastened to said frame, and a pivoted split nut, E, made to grasp the screw D, in combination with a cone-shaped collar, I'I, arranged to open the split nut E, which is held againstthe screw D by a rubber band or spring, a, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

6. In an envelope-machine, the elevatorframe B, carried in suitable guides formed in the bracket 0, and supporting the elevator plate or table A, and a screw, D, arranged to support the frame 13, when grasped by a nut secured to the worm-gear G, supported by bracket, K, in combination with the spindle L, provided with a worm to mesh with the wormgear G, and a cone, M, connected by the adjustable friction-roller P to the cone N, which is attached to the spindle O, deriving motion from some convenient moving part of the envelope-machine, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

7. I11 an envelope machine, the elevatorframe B, carried in suitable guides formed in the bracket 0 and supporting the elevator plate or table A, a screw, D, fastened to the frame B, having a bastard thread out upon it, with a nut, E, arranged to grasp the said thread, in combination with mechanism, arranged substantially as described, to impart a revolving motion to the nut, in order to convey a continuous upward movement to the elevator-frame B, and means, as the rack T,

pawl U, and lover V, for raising said frame independently of the regular feed, as set forth.

8. In an envelopemachine, the verticallyadjustable elevator-table supporting the envelope-blanks, the spindle L, connected to the elevating mechanism, and having attached to it a cone, M, and aspindle,0, running parallel with the spindle L, and having attached to it a cone, N, the apex of the cone N being opposite to the base of the cone M, the two cones being similarly tapered, in combination with a friction-roller, P, arranged to form a connection between the two cones, and carried in a bracket capable of being adjusted toward either end of the cone, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

9. In an envelope'machine, a table carrying the envelope -blanks and attached to a frame carried in guides,so as to be vertically adjustable in them, and a ratchet-rack, '1, formed upon or attached to the elevator-frame, in combination with the pawl U, pivoted on the end of the lever V, and having a rounded tail, 0, arranged to extend beyond the adj ustable bracket WV, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

Toronto, September 4, 1884.

L. P. BOUVIER.

In presence of- CHARLES CLINTON BALDWIN, F. BARNARD FE'IHERSTONHAUGH. 

